The present invention comprises a new and distinctive cultivar of orchid plant, botanically known as Phalaenopsis and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99. The genus Phalaenopsis is a member of the family Orchidaceae.
Phalaenopsis comprises a genus of about 55 species of herbaceous perennials many of which, or the hybrids thereof, are suitable for cultivation in the home or greenhouse. Phalaenopsis is prodominantly epiphytic or rock-dwelling, and is native to tropical Asia, Malay Archipelago and Oceania. The species typically has 2-ranked, fleshy, oblong or elliptic leaves affixed to a short central stem (monopodial growth), which vary in size from 5 to 8 inches to over 2 feet. The leaves may be entirely green or mottled with silver grey.
Phalaenopsis orchids, often referred to as xe2x80x98Moth Orchidsxe2x80x99 in the horticultural trade, are frequently used to furnish cut flowers for the florist trade or sold as flowering potted-plants for home or interiorscape.
Phalaenopsis produces upright or pendent lateral racemes, often with many showy flowers which open in succession beginning with the lowermost. The flowers possess three sepals and three petals; the lateral ones being alike. The lowermost petal, called the labelum, is three-lobed and is often more brightly-colored than the other flower segments. Flower colors include various shades of pink, white, yellow and red-brown.
Phalaenopsis orchids are typically propagated from seeds. Asexual propagation of Phalaenopsis is often done from off-shoots which frequently arise from the lower bracts of the inflorescence. The resulting plants are detached from the mother plant and may be planted in a suitable substrate.
xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 is particularly characterized by its attractive and unique yellow flowers, economical propagation via tissue culture, rapid growth, and a plant dimension suitable for packaging and shipping to the market.
xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new orchid cultivars having yellow flowers and a compact plant sutucture.
The new cultivar was originated from a hybridization made in a controlled breeding program in Burlo, Germany in 1992. xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 is a result of a cross of selected, but unnamed, Phalaenopsis cultivars. xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor, Gunter Arndt, in 1992 in a controlled environment in Burlo, Germany.
The first act of asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 by tissue culture was performed by the inventor in a controlled environment in Merelbeke, Belgium in 1994. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated in 1998 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as here in disclosed for xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 which in combination distinguish this orchid as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. flowers which are light-yellow in color;
2. plant produces more than one inflorescence, in contrast to most other Phalaenopsis cultivars;
3. inflorescence is short and sturdy;
4. relatively small, dark-green foliage;
5. compact structure, therefore easy to process and package for shipping; and
6. plants may be propagated economically and uniformly using tissue culture.
xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, fertilization and daylength without any change in the genotype. The following obervations, and measurements describe plants grown in Burlo, Germany under conditions, which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
Presently, there is no commercial cultivar to which xe2x80x98Anthura Goldxe2x80x99 can be meaningfully compared.